Stop Signs at 18th and Warren to Remain in Place

Despite a recommendation from the Citizens Traffic Advisory Commission (CTAC) to remove the east-west stop signs at 18th and Warren, the Sedalia City Council rejected an ordinance Monday night to remove them.

The CTAC conducted a week-long traffic study of the intersection in October, according to City Administrator Kelvin Shaw, and the resulting numbers do not warrant having stop signs there, he explained.

The signs were previously slated to be removed the day after Christmas.

According to figures provided by Public Works Director Brenda Ardrey, close to 6,000 vehicles per day would have to pass through 18th and Warren to warrant having stop signs there, and the numbers just don't come close to that, she said. The study showed that the maximum traffic count for one of the trackers (on a Thursday) was 800, while the low number was 595 (on a Sunday).

Randy Kirby

A resident who has lived at 1825 S. Warren since 2006, Harold Bradley, spoke against removing the stop signs. “I don't see any reason to remove them,” he told the Council. In fact, the former Marshall resident was surprised when he moved to Sedalia in 1988 that there were so many unregulated intersections in the State Fair City.

Councilwoman Megan Page said she received several comments from citizens against removing the stop signs. She added that she appreciates the hard work by the traffic advisory commission, but “sometimes it's okay to disagree.” She also said that it wouldn't cost anything to leave them up.

Councilman Tollie Rowe agree with Page.

Randy Kirby

Councilwoman Jo Lynn Turley added that “we need to be equal” when it comes to erecting and removing stop signs with “uniform decisions” and “be fair across the board.” She said decisions should be “based on facts, not emotions.”

Councilman Jeff Leeman agreed with Turley's sentiments and pointed out that “we have guidelines” to help make those decisions.

Mayor John Kehde weighed in on the discussion, saying that he sits in on CTAC meetings, but does not vote. The traffic advisory commission members “are trying to make good decisions,” he said, adding that “they do the research.”

Ardrey said that CTAC considers three criteria before making a recommendation to the Council.

A vote taken of the full Council after the discussion yielded six no votes (Leeman, Driskell, Nash, Cross, Rowe and Page), and two yes votes (Meier and Turley).